Back in the car! We packed up our stuff, cleaned up our little apartment and headed down the hill back into town. We stopped by a bakery and they had truly wonderful stuff. It was hard to chose! We got sandwiches for lunch, doughnuts for the girls, and a bear claw about the size of an Icelandic Horse. The funniest thing was the girl at the counter looked like a model, but she was a SOUR apple. She was clearly not going to win any service awards. I have to say, that everywhere we have gone on this trip, the vast majority of people we have interacted with at stores have been teenagers. Sometimes, really young teenagers. The gas stations, gift ships, bakeries, ice-cream shops, grocery stores, coffee shops all seem to be run by teenagers with no apparent adults. I’m beginning to wonder if there was some kind of coup d’états during COVID wherein all the adults were banished to Grimsey island. Anyway, after the bakery we went to the grocery store, got gas, then headed out on the ring road.
The initial part of the drive was gorgeous and the mountains stunning. For some reason, the weather in the North of Iceland is warmer than the South. We drove for a couple of hours and then stopped for lunch in Blonduos. Mike cleaned the car windshield with the free hose/brooms that they have at all the gas stations and then we stopped at a park to play and eat. Every park here seems to have a big trampoline pad and there are lots of slides and ziplines. Madeline had a blast while we ate brie and grapes and our sandwiches from the bakery.
Following lunch, we headed up the coast on a gravel road to Hvitserkur and saw the dragon drinking from the ocean. It was really pretty cool and it was fun to walk on the black sand in the ocean. The cliff trail going down to the ocean was silly steep and slippery and Mike fell while holding Madeline. He fell straight on his back and Madeline popped right out of his arms, like a fumbled football. Fortunately, instead of falling off a cliff, she landed in a cozy bed of moss and shrubs. Abby was the only other one to take off her shoes and walk out into the ocean, so she earned bonus awesome points.
Following the drinking dragon, we headed back down the road. This part of the drive was pretty boring and having driven it once is likely enough. The ring road is narrow, there are lots of slow camper vans and the drive gets rather tedious. We would recommend flying to the North and renting a car there for any future adventures. Gas isn’t cheap in Iceland and there isn’t too much to see on the way back down other than some cool waterfalls.
About 6:00pm we rolled up to the cabin on the lake by Thingvellir. It was stunning. The sun was in the west, the lake was glistening, and we were no longer driving. Madeline enjoyed naming all the gnome statues and Abby found a secret path from the back deck to a hidden dock on the lake. Mike made tacos and everyone just relaxed and enjoyed the endless sunset.
The initial part of the drive was gorgeous and the mountains stunning. For some reason, the weather in the North of Iceland is warmer than the South. We drove for a couple of hours and then stopped for lunch in Blonduos. Mike cleaned the car windshield with the free hose/brooms that they have at all the gas stations and then we stopped at a park to play and eat. Every park here seems to have a big trampoline pad and there are lots of slides and ziplines. Madeline had a blast while we ate brie and grapes and our sandwiches from the bakery.
Following lunch, we headed up the coast on a gravel road to Hvitserkur and saw the dragon drinking from the ocean. It was really pretty cool and it was fun to walk on the black sand in the ocean. The cliff trail going down to the ocean was silly steep and slippery and Mike fell while holding Madeline. He fell straight on his back and Madeline popped right out of his arms, like a fumbled football. Fortunately, instead of falling off a cliff, she landed in a cozy bed of moss and shrubs. Abby was the only other one to take off her shoes and walk out into the ocean, so she earned bonus awesome points.
Following the drinking dragon, we headed back down the road. This part of the drive was pretty boring and having driven it once is likely enough. The ring road is narrow, there are lots of slow camper vans and the drive gets rather tedious. We would recommend flying to the North and renting a car there for any future adventures. Gas isn’t cheap in Iceland and there isn’t too much to see on the way back down other than some cool waterfalls.
About 6:00pm we rolled up to the cabin on the lake by Thingvellir. It was stunning. The sun was in the west, the lake was glistening, and we were no longer driving. Madeline enjoyed naming all the gnome statues and Abby found a secret path from the back deck to a hidden dock on the lake. Mike made tacos and everyone just relaxed and enjoyed the endless sunset.
